"Such Rancour this, of such a poisonous Vein, / As never, never, shall my Paper stain: / Much less infect my Heart"

— Francis, Philip (1708-1773)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for A. Millar
Date
1746, 1749
Metaphor
"Such Rancour this, of such a poisonous Vein, / As never, never, shall my Paper stain: / Much less infect my Heart"
Metaphor in Context
If we, by Chance, that Thief Petillius name,
You, as your Custom is, defend his Fame.
"Petillius is my Friend; from early Youth
"Chearful we liv'd together, and in truth
"I have been much indebted to his Power,
"And I rejoice to find his Danger o'er.
"But, in the Name of Wonder be it said,
"At that same Trial how he sav'd his Head."--
Such Rancour this, of such a poisonous Vein,
As never, never, shall my Paper stain:
Much less infect my Heart, if I may dare

For my own Heart, in any thing, to swear.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "paper" and "heart" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Nineteen entries in ESTC (1742, 1743, 1746, 1747, 1749, 1750, 1753, 1756, 1764, 1765, 1778, 1779, 1791, 1794). Francis translated Horace in four volumes. The first two volumes containing Horaces odes, epodes, and "Carmen Seculare" were issued together in 1743; Vol III, containing the satires, and IV, containing the epistles and Horace's "Art of Poetry," were issued in 1746.

See The Odes, Epodes, and Carmen Seculare of Horace. In Latin and English. With Critical Notes Collected from his best Latin and French commentators. By the Revd. Mr. Philip Francis, 2 vols. (London: Printed for A. Millar). <Link to Vol. I in ECCO><Link to Vol. II>
Also A Poetical Translation of the Works of Horace: with the Original Text, and Notes Collected from the Best Latin and French Commentators on that Author. By the Revd Mr. Philip Francis (London: Printed for A. Millar, 1746). <Link to Vol. III in ECCO><Link to Vol. IV in ECCO>

Text from A Poetical Translation of the Works of Horace, With the Original Text, and Critical Notes Collected from his Best Latin and French Commentators. By the Revd Mr. Philip Francis, 3rd edition, 4 vols. (London: Printed for A. Millar, 1749).
Date of Entry
03/26/2005

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.